Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

108 reviews

natalie_davies's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a beautifully articulate bit of autofiction, one of my favourite niches in literature. It had some moving perspectives on issues and lives I'd not considered before, and read like the best prose poem. That being said, because of a few graphic sex scenes, I'm not sure it was for me.

As a piece of literature it hangs together really well, it's just not always to my taste. There were universal ideas peppered throughout that tied me to the narrative; I loved the about language and art for instance, as well as the intrinsic theme of family, but the explicit nature of some scenes left me a bit cold... I'm not 100% why that is though.
 
It could be because of my own relative disinterest in sex scenes in literature, or because seeing certain anatomical words rubbing up amongst the rest of Vuong's eloquent and graceful language felt wrong. Either way I found myself losing track of the things I cared about in the middle portion of the book, which is mainly concerned with sexual discovery with a fellow immigrant and Tabacco picker, Trevor. It picked up again after this section, once the letters had become splinters rather than whole paragraphs, but it never quite thrilled me as it did in the first 30 pages.

Quick-ish note... Feel free to stop reading, I just need to ramble. 

One thing that has definitely been impactful on my reading has been the gendered critique surrounding the text. I've seen discourse online comparing Vuong's style to that of Rupi Kaur, and taking issue with the idea of style over substance (a debate that's raged for hundreds of years). My question is; why do we consider one to be frivilous and surface level while the other is subversive and holds great beauty?

Is it because Vuong is very much subverting expectations of masculinity, having the courage to express his vulnerability, while Kaur is a of feminine expectations to ONLY dwell in these realms?

I'm not suggesting that the argument is this surface level, but it's a thought I had.... Maybe ignore this bit 🤷

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Child death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, Excrement, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, War, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Addiction, Violence, Death, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Cursing, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cancer

Minor: Pregnancy

lindseybarnett's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Drug use, War, and Addiction

handful_of_frogs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Excrement, Death of parent, Addiction, Sexual content, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, and Racism

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, War, Grief, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Violence

buchstabenmaedchen's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

adelaidecooper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Cursing, Cancer, Classism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Mental illness

marissasa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book is stunningly beautiful and raw. There are really no adequate words strong enough to describe the way Ocean Vuong writes, no way to describe how his writing is so lyrical and poetic that it makes your chest both warm and shiver after you read a particularly astounding line. Every sentence and word in this book felt so intentional and charged with meaning, and it felt so deeply personal in a way that makes you want to cry at how much pain and care is behind every word written to his mother even with the knowledge that she cannot read it. The metaphors, symbolism, incredible imagery, and seamless shifting of the narration between a present moment and a past memory were all masterfully used in this book to craft a story that will definitely stick with me for a long time. There were so many hauntingly gorgeous quotes I read that made me think of things in ways I never did before, and that is a testament to how thoroughly impressive and beautiful this book was and how immeasurably talented Ocean Vuong is.

"You once told me that the human eye is god's loneliest creation. How so much of the world passes through the pupil and still it holds nothing. The eye, alone in its socket, doesn't even know there's another one, just like it, an inch away, just as hungry, as empty. Opening the front door to the first snowfall of my life, you whispered, 'Look.'"

"All this time I told myself we were born from war—but I was wrong, Ma. We were born from beauty. Let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence—but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Abortion, Animal death, Child abuse, Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, War, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

yolie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book needs you to take your time. Although the novel appears slim it is quite dense in terms of the content and Vuong’s prose. Some chapters read more like short stories and long form poetry than a linear account. The book has moments of absolute hopelessness, you’re shattered by Little Dog’s accounts of growing up an Asian immigrant in America, gay and poor. His one-sided and ill-fated relationship with Trevor makes me cautious (and sad) to say he is Little Dog's 'first love'. So much of their relationship is marred by Trevor's homophobia and recklessness. 

I wish less time was spent on that relationship and more weight was given to the other significant relationships in his life and the milestones he achieves in his adulthood. 

But there’s beauty in it too - a nod to the book’s title. Vuong/ Little Dog is able to hold so much compassion for people, he chooses to see them in their gorgeousness - irrespective of the brevity of that moment.  Long after the novel is over you’ll keep coming back to certain phrases, marvelling at how stunning and lyrical Vuong’s writing is.

One of my favourite passages from the book reads:
“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Vomit, Abortion, Cursing, and Violence

Minor: Biphobia, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

adrians_library's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Grief, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Alcohol, and Abortion